COVID-19 AND INTERESTING TIMES

[Jaeger]

Well howdy, y'all. I expect we'll get a little more traffic out of sheer boredom from the old folks with the inevitable quarantine that's going to hose a whole lot of shit.

HI OLD FOLKS! I sometimes look at the list of people who still check in here occasionally. We see you watching, Mr. -- &Mrs.! -- "Joined in XXXX 2004" but haven't posted shit in years.

I like that you still watch, tho. It's kinky.

Anyway, we seem to be diving into INTERESTING FUCKING TIMES, yeah? Yee fuckin' haw, baby, With the stock market crashing and everybody over the age of 60 having a gun pointed at their head -- and everybody over the age of 35 thinking "where's that cutoff?!" -- this has the makings of a Wild Fuckin' Ride.

Just read a really great article in WaPo. The author makes some fucking excellent points [edited for brevity, emphasis mine, you should read the whole thing]:

...From the strength of our economy to the reliability of our political leadership to our individual resilience, we are all now in a crucible that will have profound consequences for how we work and how we act as citizens and neighbors.

We will be measured on our ability to handle adversity and uncertainty. On our ability to put the interests of the group ahead of any individual. It sounds easy, but it won’t be. As a nation, we have not been asked to sacrifice in a very long time. This will test our patience and our mettle.

...

You wanted disruption? Here it comes. It’s on your back, at your doorstep and in your head as you count your canned goods and unused vacation days and try to figure out how you can keep your family and sanity in one piece.

Our fidelity to our neighbors will also be tested. Will we share supplies if the family next door runs out? Will we even answer the door? Our commitment to larger society will be measured, too. Each of us will have to take small steps to ensure the greater good.

...

We are going to get a clearer definition of what the word essential really means. We are going to learn a thing or two about all the people who are willing to raise their hands and suit up in protective gear to deliver food and medicine to shut-ins, or report for their shifts as police officers, firefighters, public-works employees or garbage collectors.

...

This is a test we need to pass.

She's absolutely right, regardless of how this all plays out.

We -- 'Murika, to be clear -- haven't taken a real beating in a long, long time. Last time we really had to deal with real in-CONUS hardship was the Great Depression. We've dodged the bullet at least since WW2, and arguably since the American Civil War, which ended in 1865. That was the last time we were at the "bodies-in-the-steets" level.

First, it's on some level comforting to know that apparently it doesn't hit kids quite so badly. Not being panicked about my kids removes easily 50% of the "OH FUCK ME" factor. If I thought my kids were in that much danger I'd be setting things on fire. As it is, I'm just inclined to stockpile ammunition in case things go totally sideways and we drift into some post-apocalyptic video game. (Sorry, Pattio. Still love you and want to share a room at DOOM.)

I also know we have some proper Old Farts out there -- lookin' at you, Middie! -- and I expect it's quite a different prospect. We cant' make you (or us!) any younger, so good luck.

But holy hell. They're shutting down the schools to protect the teachers, not the parents. Anybody over the age of apparently 30 should be puckered the fuck up. WaPo reported a >20% lethality rate in anyone over 80 -- the age of my folks, who just moved into a retirement community.

First, I encourage everyone to make good and goddamn sure you know how to find your local Ootmics. I think most of the metro areas know how to keep eyes on each other. If you don't know how to find your local Oomics -- within 100 miles or so -- hit me or Der Golgo and we'll do what we can to help. Inasmuch as possible, put your own facemask on first.


If you think you can help a fellow Ootmic -- or we can help anyone else -- SPEAK THE FUCK OUT. We're obviously just a bunch of moto-geeks, but we're a network. We're not magicians, but goddammit we gotta do what we can. We claim to be what?

WE ARE THE GOOD GUYS. Right?

That counts for something. Sometimes that counts for everything. We can't be gods or fix all problems, but if we can collectively help we we should LIVE UP TO OUR FUCKING IDEALS... whatever the fuck those were. We could never agree.

I've actually handed out a few UTMC "business cards" that stated that. I believe it. I try to, anyway. We have some Genuinely Knowledgeable Folks on here that know real safety protocols, etc. and I'm really hoping y'all will speak the fuck up.

The UTMC has always been the home of the oddball-weirdo who deep down wants to do good. Here's our chance. Look in on your neighbors, and be a good neighbor. Try to take care of yourself and your community. Help those who have struggled with the idea of death. You've probably faced it more times than they have.

Discuss.

--Jaeger

[xtian]

what does it say about society that the first concern is toilet paper ?

[Jaeger]

what does it say about society that the first concern is toilet paper ?

Consider it a statement on our Puritan roots.

--Jaeger

[Jaeger]

P.S. -- It's nice to see your floppy dead-bunny-skull ears in here again, Eurotrash.

Also, it's fuckin' 0130 local for me, fuckwit, did you just wake the fuck up? If so,.... we're the first thing you saw... SQUEEEEEE!!!

--Jaeger

[xtian]

well, yes, if you have to ask, you're part of my early morning routine until i see straight enough to do some worK.

Seriously, it's not just corona virus. Everything is going down the shitter now. I thought at least if I had to live that long, I could enjoy some compensations.
- ban on motor vehicles older than 8 to 10 years, petrol prices gone up in flames since 2008, so no more bigger older cheaper beater cars
- extinction of combustion vehicles programmed for the next 10 years, so enjoy your motorcycle while you can, because you'll need a new one every 5 years or be ban and anyway, you won't be able to sell the older one because .... extinction of combustion vehicles.
- weather. tsunamis, regular flood alerts alternating with drought and heat waves. all my fault because combustion engines
- the constant reminder that it's my fault, they made me fight for 25 years to achieve this level of comfort, and now i'm killing polar bears when I want to use a plastic straw in my mojito. TV giving lessons about how sending an email kills the great australian rift.
- corona virus that cancelled all racing or show around here, and is about to kill all my customers because they're all old and weak.
- I wanted to make a comment about my queen elisabeth fetish in blackadder (in blackadder only, I insist) but I can't because I'm too scared i'll go to prison if I admit that I am sensible to feminine aesthetics. viruses will handily get rid of any personal contact anyway.
- no more travelling, because, you know, ban. no more polluting the countryside. and Cities everywhere are about to take on tourists soon. You'll see, it begins.

So. What does that left us with ? caves ?
I'll be the first to be eaten alive anyway.
You fucking ruined my mood for the day.

[DerGolgo]

hit me or Der Golgo and we'll do what we can to help.

Caveat: while The Big Board, with the giant world map and little blinking lights indicating the real time position and track of every ootmick was fancy and all, the power bill for that mother was a fucker and a half.
So these days, like all ye mere mortals, I must refer to Unicorn Tracking Master Control. Which, since The Great Upgrade, is to be found in the menu-bar on the left. The one that you open with the button you will find near the top, to the left of your pm inbox and notifications .

What I can do, however, is pass along emails to ootmicks who have been absent long and probably won't, or don't, react to a pm or a tag.
Again, a caveat: the only emails I have for anyone are those associated with the user account. Even a few active members probably still have an old address in their account details, for an email account they can no longer access. Quite besides the ever popular spam-filters liable to filter out stuff from suspect domains like ours.

But if anyone needs to contact a long absent ootmick, I will surely pass along any messages to whatever email address is associated with their account.

Besides that, allow me to pass along my own hygiene recommendations.

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Full disclosure: I did come down with flu-like symptoms Friday last.

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Fever, cough, limb- and joint-pain. Probably headache, but that's not a metric I can use.
Since fever, cough, pains had gone come monday, when I saw my GP and was tested for COVID, I had expected the result might be negative even if I had had COVID. I expected my immune-system would have cleared that out.
As I was educated today, no, if that had been COVID, the test would have shown that, even after all symptoms had disappeared. So I just had the boring bug.

Washing of hands is crucial. And the properly washing of hands is cruciallers. Just a dab of soap and rinse like many would do after putting away a stick of water is not the proper way of washing hands. Go on youtube, there are any number of instructionals as to how to properly wash your hands.
Whichever way you do it, you must mind the taps. A contaminated hand touching a tap might leave a few droplets of contamination. Whether you did that, or somebody else (like in a public restroom), all that thorough washing of hands can be nullified by touching a contaminated tap.
So use a paper towel to turn the water on and off. Or a paper tissue. I have placed a paper tissue dispenser next to the basin in my "bathroom", and I use 'em when I get home and wash my hands. I also avoid grabbing my inside doorhandles before I wash my hands, the elbow can push them down just fine.

Locating disinfectant when everywhere is sold out of disinfectant
Damn near impossible to get here. I called my pharmacy to inquire if they could fill me up a bottle of pure isopropyl alcohol, as they had in the past (I used it for cleaning certain things). Nope. Not only do they have none to sell, they can't even order it, it's not to be found nowhere, as it's very effective at destroying virus particles.
Just ordered myself a few liters on Amazon. Not that Amazon has much disinfectant in stock, and I didn't order disinfectant.
I ordered nail-polish remover. 99.9% isopropyl alcohol. Not even a "only xxx left in stock" notice. It appears word hasn't yet gotten around. I'd guess that people who use nail polish remover will rarely read the "ingredients" section on the label, while people who don't use nail polish remover won't read it at all.
So think laterally. Besides isopropyl nail-polish remover, you might find it in other places and other applications.

Stocking up on tons of groceries won't help anyone if the shelf-stacker at the store had some snot on his fingers, and you go and drink your soda (or adult beverage) straight from the very can he so thoughtfully contaminated. COVIC-19 can remain infectious on an inanimate surface for up to 9 days, apparently.

I'm not recommending zealously disinfecting every item of groceries. Just to treat the outside packaging as suspect for the first ten days after purchase.
I handle grocery items like I would raw meat. Basic kitchen hygiene. Hands or inanimate objects that touched them must be washed before touching anything else.
Exception for soda cans. Since my poison of choice isn't available in bottles, I am limited in container choice. Obviously, I will decant the stuff into a glass before drinking. But on its way out of the can, the fluid will encounter the outside surface of the can. So around the outlet, and the upper area of the side near the outlet, I do disinfect.

If, like me, you are forced to breathe the same air as any number of germ-dispensers, like on public mass transit or in a doctor's waiting room (particularly the latter), you may decide that you might want to wear a mask of some description. To filter out the undesired filth.
Note that surgical masks are really more for protecting the patient from what the surgeon might exhale, less to protect the wearer from inhaling something.
Medical staff who have to interact with quarantined patients are required to wear different style masks. The technical standard is FFP3 in Europe, NIOSH N95 in the US. Those fit much closer to the face than surgical masks. My FFP3 masks actually have a rubber seal around the edge.

[xtian]

watching the news, we had to say that it's not all bad. This could be the mighty anti-idiocracy outburst, counter balancing the sad truth that the educated people do not reproduce as much as the lesser chromosonian equipped.
In france, one of the major soccer match had to be played without audience, it was just too risky to reunite 45.000 people in a closed environment. So what did the 45.000 supporters do ? they reunited just outside the stadium to hold each others and mix their sweat and spit each others in the face. geniuses.
So basically the first casualties of the Covid-19 will be the generally believers of conspiracy theories who won't follow the government measures and people unable to follow instructions or follow simple rules of hygiene. We might have a chance after all.

[DerGolgo]

So basically the first casualties of the Covid-19 will be the generally believers of conspiracy theories who won't follow the government measures and people unable to follow instructions or follow simple rules of hygiene. We might have a chance after all.

Hm. Conceivably. Althouogh. As much as I'd appreciate a smarter, more thoughtful species. The eugenics aspect of this is a bit uncomfortable.

Confounder I'm seeing: the ones who survive the infection once, you'd expect they should be out of the germ-dispenser game, right? On account of acquiring immunity the hard way, like with measles?
Nopes.
After Bill made the nightmarish suggestion, I did the googles. It appears that antibodies for this particular coronavirus don't stick around. At least one patient (a Japanese tour guide, apparently) who survived the infection and had subsequently tested negative had, on later tests, again come up positive for COVID.

So those blockheaded numbnutz who are likely to catch it. Most will survive. And can then just go right back to spewing virus at the righteous. And at us, too.

[DerGolgo]

It's all hands on deck to curtail the further spread of COVID-19. Everyone contributes. To each according to their needs, from each according to their abilities. Workers of the worl...

In beautiful Italy, where ever so many people are under quarantine, those lonely souls now get free premium access on the PornHub - no credit card details required!

https://uk.pcmag.com/web-sites/125222/p ... quarantine

Anyone calling this a "PR stunt".
It's fucking PornHub. They don't need PR. All they need is the bank account for the advertising customers to transfer funds into.

I found out about this in the Midget Circus. But since there still exist the pure, unadulterated, unsoiled ootmicks, those of use who do not have the putrid stench of social media pouring out of their every pore. So I thought it appropriate to add this here. Thank you for finding this, "David".

[xtian]

admittedly, 7% of the population dying is uncomfortable. Even an outcast like me probably knows personally about 200 people, whom 15 of them would be dead. very uncomfortable. But let's not make it personal, dumb kids from illiterate incestuous parents are cute too but none the less a menace for the species . let's stick to a theoretical level.

[DerGolgo]

admittedly, 7% of the population dying is uncomfortable. Even an outcast like me probably knows personally about 200 people, whom 15 of them would be dead. very uncomfortable. But let's not make it personal, dumb kids from illiterate incestuous parents are cute too but none the less a menace for the species . let's stick to a theoretical level.

Thing is: major victim group, maximum mortality, are people aged 80+. Who will have done most of their procreating, presumably.
Children, meanwhile, are unusually underrepresented in the statistics. All this'd do is take a load off of pension schemes, things like Social Security, free up some residential real estate, and force dumb Dick and moron Mike grow up without grandpa or grandma.

[Bigshankhank]

Yeah so I’m traveling via areoplanes a lot lately including tomorrow. Fuck it, can’t build shit remotely I’m afraid. I’m setting up a trailer compound in Tennessee next week if anyone needs a place to crash and maybe a spare bike to crank over I can hook you up in the Valley.

[Jaeger]

Day Zero

We'd had a St. Patrick's day thing scheduled in our neighborhood for weeks now. Everybody pitched in for food and a mini-keg, etc.

There was some hesitation the past couple days, but we're turning it into a "St. Pat's/End of the World" party.

The grownups are all staying several feet apart. There's a can of Lysol with the keg, everybody marks their cups, nobody shakes hands.... it's not perfect but we're doing the best we can to start minimizing.

We're doing what we can to corral the kids, but I just had a conversation with my 6yo about how this is the last time he gets to go play with his friends for a while. It'll just be him, his sister, Mish, and me for at least the next couple weeks. All the other folks are doing the same. It's gonna suck most for the kids, I fear. "No, you don't get to go outside and play with them if they're out" is not something I'd otherwise say.

In a perfect world I suppose we'd have done this weeks ago, but we're trying to balance paranoia with being human, hence the awkward party. As of tonight everybody's on lockdown. We're making sure all the houses can communicate, we'll swap toilet paper if necessary -- that sort've thing. We're all in it together.

Sub optimal from a clinical standpoint, but I hope it'll help stay sane over the next few weeks.

The Jaegerhaus is going to see how many days we can go without going to the grocery store, get crazy with the sanitizing of shit... we're drawing the line here, and so are our neighbors. I hope to not really leave the house for a couple of days -- at least nothing more than a constitutional walk while actively avoiding people. Sounds like everybody else is planning the same. We're fortunate most of us are able to do so.

Hopefully we're far enough ahead. We'll all find out soon enough. I expect we'll all be crazy with the hand sanitizer for many months, but hopefully we can figure out who is and isn't carrying in a couple weeks and go from there. I'm really going to miss jujitsu, but at least I can still go ride in my own helmet (and keep my gloves on when I pump gas).

--Jaeger

[red]

My fellow midwesterners are finally starting to understand why this is an actual, serious fucking situation. Schools are closed, people are bum rushing (is that a TP joke? you decide) the stores and stripping the shelves bare. We're good on food and supplies. I can work anywhere with power and access to the cyber grid. Working man. Been chatting with Rench, says he's in good standings.


Thought I'd get prettied up to go to the market.

IMG_20200314_113017.jpg

One good thing about having a family with a ton of food allergies is that all of our weirdo, expensive food is still on the shelves.

In regards to worky stuff, on 3/6 I spent 14 hours getting a rag-tag COVID-19 Triage Center set up; worked Sat and Sun with some team mates to add in COVID-19 intercepts to all of our IVRs and urgent care centers. Mon-Fri was a whirlwind of programming changes, panicked tickets for WFH or WFMobile staff. Hell, I just got done with some changes to time of day control.

[red]

We're doing what we can to corral the kids, but I just had a conversation with my 6yo about how this is the last time he gets to go play with his friends for a while. It'll just be him, his sister, Mish, and me for at least the next couple weeks. All the other folks are doing the same. It's gonna suck most for the kids, I fear. "No, you don't get to go outside and play with them if they're out" is not something I'd otherwise say.

--Jaeger

I bought some new board games for the kids and some other stuff but this is gonna be a challenge for sure. Going to assist my Grandmother in installing a video chat app tomorrow so she can have "visits"; have to do it over their land line, so it should be interesting.


Good luck everyone, stay safe out there.

[DerGolgo]

The "that other country did it!" stuff is ramping up. The radio reported today that, "according to reports", Trump himself has offered to buy a German company's COVID-19-vaccine research, for the "exclusive" use of the US. According to the same reports, he also wants to relocate all of the researchers involved to the US. That's some cold-war era bullshit.
The "how dare he!" element of the radio report was that the vaccine research in question has been funded by the Paul-Ehrlich-Institute, which is the potato government entity in charge of all things vaccine.
I'm sure many people would feel at least slightly satisfied that, if he did that, that "exclusive use" would translate into one or two big pharma outfits he's on golfing terms with price-gouging so hard, the spread of the disease would be barely affected, if at all, and that the MAGAista with insufficient healthcare-insurance would die because they can't afford it.

Going out, now, I will wear my FFP3 respirator (FFP3 being the euro standard for respirators that must be used when dealing with patients quarantined for viral disease, I had been clever enough to buy early). Because I'm a paranoid freak, and recalling all those stories of how soldiers weren't allowed to grow beards (a rule which I had seen for myself is no longer applied to the entire force), I bit the bullet and, for the ~5th time in my entire life, I shaved.
Yes, I think the situation is that bad.
My beard, of course, he's loyal. He understands. He's always come back.
And because I already had a stubble after just a few hours, I shaved again today. How can you all do this shit every single day?!

Some more stuff of concern around here

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Friday, I had gone to the grocery store and found that the shelves of toilet paper and paper towels had indeed become a bit empty-ish.
I still had ~5 rolls at home, but I decided that, not knowing when normalcy might resume, or at least toilet-paper supplies, I should stock up, and bought a pack of one of the two types of TP remained. Both from the "fancy" brand. I comfort myself that, rather than panic-buying just pedestrian toilet paper, I went prepper and bought the concentrated stuff.
No, seriously, there now is concentrated toilet paper. They figured out how to make a roll of tp without the cardboard tube in the center and, somehow, with just a centimeter or so of additional diameter, they can put two rolls worth of asswipes on a single roll. This is like a MRE... TPRW?

Saturday, I again noticed I had forgotten to buy something, so I went to the grocery store yet again.
There was NO toilet paper. And NO paper towels. Not even tissue dispensers (which makes sense, since you're supposed to use a paper towel or the like to operate the taps when you wash your hands - although I'm sure most, if not all, of the tissue dispensers were bought for use as emergency-toilet-paper).

Turns out that, while the people who were selling 99.9% isopropyl nail-polish-remover are selling 99.9% isopropyl nail-polish-remover, they had mixed up the item descriptions, so the stuff I ordered was the not-99.9% isopropyl nail-polish-remover. I did find properly advertised stuff from other sellers and, trusting in Amazon's automated logistics chain, ordered some of those.

As of Monday, all schools in this part of Germany will remain closed, ditto publicly run kindergartens. The local university has moved the beginning of the summer semester to late April, no lectures or anything before then.

On Friday the 13th, obviously, the catholic diocese (also obviously) has cancelled all confirmations. That's the terminology they used, not "postponed". There will be no confirmations "until further notice", but definitely not before June 30th.
That's one of the seven sacraments, it's official admission into the church and hence to salvation, and iirc, it's kinda important to get it done before holy week.
They don't fuck around with that shit. These are the people who figure that a history of pederasty is no reason to keep employing someone in a position where they are specifically charged to work with children, and that is inherently invested with a "he's entirely trustworthy!" badge.

The protestants, meanwhile, don't have that hierarchy that the papists got, so all they can do central-like is to recommend that parishes postpone all events that are not a "dire necessity" at least until holy week.
For the celebration of communion (I had not known they even did that), they recommend the use of individual cups (chalices?), or that people should forego the wine drinking and, instead, just eat the bread. Optionally, the bread may be dipped into the wine before eating, and that'd make a fully serviceable communion. And the religious doctrine to that effect that they had to dig up never even got a "lay" or "vulgar" name - it's called "Intinctio". Yes, the apostates are so fucking worried, they are going all the way back to before Luther's little Latin-loathing schism!

As of today, the city has ordered that all cinemas must remain closed for the time being.
According to the website of what I believe is the only remaining Großraumdiskothek (yes, that's a disco, it's a nightclub of sorts, and yes, the idea behind this sort is exactly as fucking horrible as the compound-word implies), they were only ordered to close this weekend (I think I may have noticed fewer ambulances blasting through the intersection right beneath my window, I live on the main thoroughfare that connects the city's hospitals to that wretched hive of dance and jiggery).

[red]

Stay safe, good thing you bought a mask early. They're non existent around here. I bought some basic supplies a week or two ago. Couldn't find any masks then even.

No doubt this is going to get much worse before it gets better. I work in health care and I'll relay any pertinent info I get. The health network that signs my checks is going into full lockdown, no visitors at all.

[DerGolgo]

Stay safe, good thing you bought a mask early. They're non existent around here. I bought some basic supplies a week or two ago. Couldn't find any masks then even.

If you can't get masks, use a scarf. A bandana. Anything you can tie around your face holes is better than not having something tied around there.
The technical standard I managed to snag up that's required for health workers interacting with viral quarantine patients, FFP 3, filters at least 99% of particles 0,6 μm or larger. You lot have a different technical definition, but this is where I might start looking.
For filters intended for chemical processing or suchlike. Someone, somewhere, must be selling filter material by the bushel, or the roll or whatever. Possibly, they haven't yet reached public awareness and you can still get some at an extortionate price.
I'm not sure a K&N filter will be as effective as a proper medical-grade filter material. But hey, if you can hook it up to something you strap to your face, you could at least feel solidarity with your bike.

Fun fact I learned while googling for the filtration performance of K&N filters

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Turns out that diesel isn't just unclean when VW are flogging it.
Diesel can be a lovely host-medium for bacteria. Or so one manufacturer of fuel-filters claims. Not sure how anything the bacteria do might mess up the motor bits that come after the fuel filter. Like, burning that shit should solve any hygiene issues.

[red]

I've been carrying a bandana again, for just that case. I thought about doing the same research, for example, what will a normal 3M cartridge mask filter out from a biological perspective?

Found out from Rench that they're closing the bars and restaurant are being closed in Chicago; I imagine my 'hood will be doing the same before long. Got the official word from work that only COVID-19 work gets priority over everything else.

I installed Folding @ Home today and set up a GPU entry so I'll get to crunch some COVID-19 data. So, if you have a spare PC, check it out.

https://foldingathome.org/start-folding/

[DerGolgo]

I installed Folding @ Home today and set up a GPU entry so I'll get to crunch some COVID-19 data. So, if you have a spare PC, check it out.

https://foldingathome.org/start-folding/

Thanks for the reminder, I had been thinking about that. I built myself a fiendishly powerful computer last year, no reason not to fold some stuff with it.

Radio reported this morning that, as of wednesday, what bits of the hospitality industry that are still open must close, as must gyms.

And now the scary part: Germany is closing her borders. Yes, the self-same borders that should really not exist much any more, what with the EU and all, they are getting closed to travelers. Actually quite like what the fascists had been demanding for the last few weeks years.
Only borders that aren't closed to travelers are Netherlands and Belgium, obviously. Also something that will make the fascists happy.
Commercial traffic is still allowed to cross all borders, of course, priorities (actually).

I'm asking myself right now who will enforce those border closures, and where and whatnot.

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On a schooltrip to see the lunar eclipse, we had walked into France just by crossing the street in a residential neighborhood. When I had been on a trip with the scouts, we likewise had walked into the Netherlands by just tramping across an (at the time unused) Bundeswehr training area deep in the woods which was only apparent because of signs warning people they might get shot if they go in when the barrier was down. That is to say: Unless you're a local deeply familiar with the local geography, in most places, you can't even see anything that might indicate border. And I'm not just talking about the mess of enclaves and exclaves which, now that I think about it, are probably the real reason that the borders to Belgium and the Netherlands aren't closed (where you don't have to cross the street to cross a border, but you can go from Germany into the Belgium, and then back into Germany, basically by getting off the pot and washing your hands).

I have a doctor's appointment in an hour. This will be fun, I guess.

[Jaeger]

If you can't get masks, use a scarf. A bandana. Anything you can tie around your face holes is better than not having something tied around there.

Careful there. M and I were talking about that a few days ago and she did some quick research -- in fact, that only works if you're already sick. If the goal is to keep the buggies out, that bandanna may work against you after a few minutes of you breathing through it and getting it all damp and sticky... just sayin'.

I haven't really looked but I should try to find a painter's mask or the like -- just so it covers the face holes but isn't sitting directly on your nose and mouth.

Still, if you're already sick and trying to keep the buggies in, then by all means wear a bandanna.

FWIW, I've started carrying them again too. If nothing else it's good to have something

Better off just keeping the fuck away from everybody.

We're into Day Two of isolation and I'm thinking about how to deal with the inevitable trip to the grocery store. From what i've read, gloves are a good idea -- and I don't just mean latex, which are difficult to find and flimsy -- I mean leather work gloves. I gather the virus doesn't do well on porous surfaces like leather or fabric (which might mitigate my bandanna concerns above, but still). Also, they'll help keep you (me) from touching my face.

And DerG, I haven't taken my beard off entirely but I clipped it down really short with the idea that it'll help me from fussing/scratching it. Besides, it's not like I'm gonna see anybody until it grows back.

--Jaeger

[Jaeger]

ALSO -- and I swear I'm not trying to postwore here -- M just sent me this link for online schoolwork downloads for those of us trying to juggle kids:

https://www.edhelper.com/teacher-educat ... ydjYoj_6QU

We're giving them a go today, I think, will report back. Please do same.

--Jaeger

[DerGolgo]

The mechanism of infection involves people exhaling/sneezing/coughing microscopic droplets of filth into the air around them, and those are inhaled or touch the mucous membranes one way or the other. I just did the googles, and while I found recommendations for wearing respirators from a pneumologist's association, I could not find recommendations against tying a textile around the faceholes.
When I must be in close proximity to people, or in an enclosed space like on public transit or in a waiting room, I wear my FFP3. Talked to my doctor about it today, and what care I should take when reusing a mask (inevitable in the present situation - even my neurologist couldn't get any on a legit route, and had to find a relative who'd nick a few from an army hospital). Treat the mask as contaminated, and liberally apply disinfecting agent after use.
As many people apparently end up touching their face more when they wear a mask, to constantly adjust it, I took the precaution of fixing a cable-tie to each of the four plastic thingies where the rubber band is attached. Obviously, I haven't yet needed to adjust the mask, but if I do, the cable-ties keep my paws ~4 inches away from touching my face, or face adjacent whatnot.

Obviously, any textile tied around the faceholes should be considered potentially contaminated, treated as such, and cleaned or disposed after use.
If nothing else, a thing tied around the faceholes will keep a person from inadvertently touching the area and depositing whatever contamination they have on their fingers.

Things have gone from scary to frightening

Show

Across the street from me is a tobacco/magazine/lottery outlet that's also the post/DHL franchise I use. The couple that own it don't go on vacations, the shop has to be kept running, and they don't have the business volume to afford any staff that would run the place in their absence.
I found out today that, on Wednesday, they will shut down "for however long it takes".
Basically, any business involving crowds or suchlike has already gotten the order to close doors from the authorities. Apart from pharmacies, medical facilities, and grocery stores, everything is closing down for the duration.

[DerGolgo]

The upside/silver lining: It's been weeks since I've heard or read anyone mentioning Brexit. Oh, how refreshing.

[DerGolgo]

Hm, dangit.
@red, do you have any info on why Folding@Home isn't sending the passkey I requested? I got a top-fuel computer here, so I wanna show off.

[Bo_9]

Got the word that all schools are closed yesterday at east until after spring break possibly going online-only after that. All sports and events with over 200 people have effectively been canceled. Still no cases within an hours drive of us in the bottom corner of KS.
And the TP stockpilers......
I do not get it.
It was TP, bottled water, and Lysol that vaporized from the shelves last Friday. What do they expect that will require a Cadillac Escalade full of TP?
"oh no how will I ever clean my arse in this room with a shower right over there..."

[DerGolgo]

Oh, and found out today why Europe is the hotspot, northern Italy/Tirol in particular. A trusted source passed this along, while the media are ignoring it.
In that region, northern Italy/Tirlo, ~600,000 undocumened (read: illegal) migrant workers are employed as cheap labor. Many of whom went home to see the family for new-years celebration in February. Yes, that'd be the Chinese new year.

[red]

@DerGolgo , no clue. I downloaded it to my laptop running Mint and it pretty much took off. I'm new to the Folding@Home game, so I'm not any help.

We had our first death in my state. Very, very close to my 'hood, in a local hospital. The absolute insanity at work continues and it's fucking frightening to hear top tier people discuss plans in the event of ventilator shortages. Non essential surgeries are off the books, its emergent and COVID-19 work only. Even working in the healthcare world, I was able to put up a mental separation when at home but that's becoming more difficult.

We have some additional supplies I need to get and, to be honest, I don't really want to enter another store packed full of people (mask or not).

I have a sinking feeling that this place is gonna tear itself apart if this doesn't pass quickly (which it won't, we're in for at least summer I bet).

[Jaeger]

Day Three (0100 EDT)

Yesterday (well, as of an hour ago) was our first day of "home school." Not sure how successful it was, but nobody fought and they read a lot, so I guess that's good. Mrs. Jaeger and I were both on deadline so couldn't sit on their heads.

We went on a walk around the neighborhood for "morning recess." Walked a couple miles, probably. My boy (Thing 2), who's not quite 7, was able to keep up, so I expect that to be a regular thing. I hope so, anyway. Everybody we encountered on the paths around here was very polite, and everybody gave each other a wide berth.

We walked by our neighborhood pool that's currently drained. I tested Thing 2 on his ability to find his way home from there on the paths (he did). I hope we get to go swimming there this summer.

I've been trying to keep up with the news while wrangling kiddos and getting shit done (i.e., making money before the gigs dry up). Was at least marginally successful, though my work requires focus that's hard to find when you're constantly interrupted by.... stuff. The only redeeming thing is that everybody else is in the same boat -- at least the ones with kids. Frankly, I find it difficult to concentrate knowing there's an invisible storm on the horizon.

I had to yell at the Jägerkinder for going outside of our little fenced-in back yard during "afternoon recess." Some of our fuckwit neighbors were out playing in the cul-de-sac with their kids and letting them run rampant. They (neighbors) don't seem to grasp the gravity of what's going on -- even the one who's a nurse! Another one called the fuckin' ambulance on her kid Sunday night because he was in "respiratory distress." Sounds like he just has a cold -- waiting on the COVID test -- but... I mean COME THE FUCK ON!

I explained to the Jägerkinder that if they break the isolation -- even if we're close to the end -- we need to restart the timer. If they want to have a prayer of having a life and playing with friends again, we need to be good for the next 2 weeks. I explained it's not just about them infecting us, it's about us infecting other people. My girl, Thing 1, seemed to grasp it. Dunno about Thing 2.

Buddy of mine who's a super-shmaat journo was just texting with me. He said "...this is going to be something our kids remember for the rest of their lives." He's right. This is certainly unlike anything I've seen in my 46+ years. It's like 9/11 in slo-mo. Everybody (with any fuckin' sense) realizes this is No Fuckin' Joke and that Things Have Changed.

I saw my folks, both of whom are 80, back in January. Last summer they moved into a retirement community on the Eastern Shore. I hope I get the chance to hug them again without worrying that doing so may fucking kill them.

Mrs. Jaeger's grandmother turned 102 on Friday (no shit). She's failing and has hospice in house now. It's just a matter of time. Now the question is: do we go to the funeral up in NY? We can drive there of course, but we'll need to be nutso-paranoid about doing things like peeing on the NJTP. (Then again, you should always be paranoid about peeing on the NJTP.)

Another buddy of mine has a cousin who's a nurse in Italy. The stories she's sending back are horrid. He said "If they want to get a real response in this country they just need to take a news crew through an Italian hospital right now."

Perhaps deep down, everybody will now get an idea what it's like to ride a motorcycle. Sure, most of us ride without issue on most days, and it's business as usual. Then, one day you're out minding your own business, doing what you're supposed to do and POW you're fucked and you're dead... or not?

--Jaeger

[DerGolgo]

Dang. Are too many people trying to help, is folding@home overwhelmed with willing helpers?
My computer finished the last work unit at around 6 AM. It's now just about noon, and it still hasn't gotten a new assignment. Gonna have to try and restart it.

Good news: the first of several shipments of isopropyl has arrived after all. I can continue my liberal application of disinfectant then.